Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Breath of God
Thursday, December 4, 2008
A Man of the Soil
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Into the Great Unknown...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
That Crafty Serpent
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Our Intimate Creator
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Mark 14:21-26
May that connection be one of the things we can't leave behind.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
John 13:21-38
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Breath. God tells Ezekiel to prophesy directly to the "breath". Breath and body are two different things. You can have the body, but without the "breath" the body is just bones, tendons, and muscles. What is the "breath"? In the beginning Adam is given the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Jesus was given the breath of life at birth and took his last breath at death (Matthew 27) and had breath again at the resurrection. There is something to this "breath" thing…
Could this also be a vision of the "Resurrection of the Saints"?
Monday, March 17, 2008
John 12:1-11
Friday, March 14, 2008
Isaiah 53:7-9
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Isaiah 53:1--6
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
II Corinthians 1:3-11
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
1 Peter 2:21-25
My first summer here at Oak Ridge we took some students to Youth Wave in Austin. This event, like any event, has good and bad points. One of the things that I liked most about the week was the time spend each night with just our students. It was myself and Stacey along with Teryn Mize, Kyle Davis, Andrew Harmon, and Brian (can't remember his name…ask me in person why!). We have some really good discussions that week about heaven, hell, Jesus and everything in between. One discussion that I will never forget was an argument between Andrew and I over whether or not it was possible for a human (you or me) to be perfect like Jesus was perfect. If we started to right now, was it possible to go the rest of our lives without sin. Andrew was on the "no way" side and I argued that "with God" all things are possible. That may sound cheesy now, but think about it…
Im not sure what I believe now. I have flipped and flopped numerous times since that discussion at Krispy Kreme in Austin. 1 Peter brings this whole idea rushing back into my head. Christ was an example for me so that I may follow in his steps. Really? Is that even possible and at what level? I think the right answer and the life that follows are too hard so I would just rather say that we can't be perfect so I can keep my life simple.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Acts 14:19-28
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Romans 8:31-39
Colossians 3:1-17
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Isaiah 25:1-9
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Romans 1:1-7; 16-17
I want piggy back off of what Ron said here and say that most of the time we read Romans through the lens of the individual. What happens when we re-read the book of Romans as a community? Today we read the first seven verses and Paul is already speaking in "community" terms: "…among all the Gentiles", "you are also among them…", "To all those loved by God…" This continues into verses 16-17 as well and I would be willing to bet if we read the book through we would see a lot of places where Paul is interested in the community as a whole as well as the individual. What does this mean? I have no idea, but it is why I love to read the Bible. I have a degree from the great ACU and I have never thought about this before! I've so enjoyed these last couple of weeks because there is so much of the text that becomes new to me every time we do something like this!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
1 Corinthians 15:1-28
Im still working through this book and have really enjoyed the way it gives me tired head. Last night I was watching the snow and trying to grasp one of the ideas that the author is trying to make (I understand this may make no sense if you haven't read the book…sorry):
The language of Jesus was not privileged…Paul evidently was under no compulsion to use Jesus' "kingdom" language. The apostle John wasn't either; he turned the rhetoric of Jesus about "kingdom into rhetoric of "eternal life." The writer of Hebrews explored Jesus' redemptive work through the imagery of the temple and the priesthood, and he felt no compulsion to use Jesus' or Paul's language for the work of God. No one seemed tied to the language of Jesus. (p.89)
The book is about atonement and this comes from a discussion of whether or not Jesus understood his death to be atoning and also how Paul viewed the death of Jesus. I have been reading over and over again this passage today and all I can think is what would Jesus have to say about what Paul writes? Not that I think it is wrong or bad, but the language is different. The gospel to Paul was that Christ died for our sins and without the resurrection we are futile. Jesus has some different things to say about the kingdom and the "good news." I think it would include death and resurrection, but also life.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Matthew 11:2-19
Three things that made me think out of today's passage:
- John sends his disciples to Jesus to ask if he is "the one to come, or should we wait for someone else?" I love the answer that Jesus gives: "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." Not a yes or no answer!!! Jesus lets his actions speak for themselves. I talked for about 25 minutes yesterday to a group of 185 people…maybe I should follow that up with some action!!!
- Jesus claims that the least in the Kingdom of Heaven are still greater than John after saying that there is no greater man on the planet that John. Is Jesus right about everything? So that means that there are a lot of people we won't let come to church that are better than John the Baptist?
- Is a tax collector a sinner? Why are the always separated, "tax collectors and sinners"?
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Romans 12
Friday, February 29, 2008
Philemon 8-21
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Colossians 3:1-17
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Hebrews 2:1-18
I am sitting in the waiting room after Ron's surgery and the people and noise are a little distracting, so I don't have lot to offer this afternoon. I am reading a book by Scot McKnight entitled "A Community Called Atonement" and so I have had atonement on the brain for about week as I swim through this great book.
So I ask this question: What does "atonement" mean to you?
(I went to Webster's Dictionary first and then to the theological dictionary to start my mind down the right track)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Joshua 24:14-28
This is somewhat of a hopeless passage for me. While I respect the people for wanting to make the "right" choice by choosing God, don't they know they will fail? I wonder what it would be like to read this passage without any knowledge of what follows. Do they really choose God? Have these desert wanderers really straightened up? I know what happens and so I wonder why they even chose God to begin with. Some people say that there are only two things that are certain: death and taxes. Can I add failure to that list? We are destined to be failures. That may seem a wee bit defeatist, but I really think we have to recognize the fact that we will fail. The people in the story are so proud and want so badly not to "forsake" God, but what if they had realized their humanness and accepted the fact they could not keep the promise of Joshua 24? I have a poster in my office that at one time I read every day and believed it! Then, somewhere in the last few years, I decided failure wasn't an option and it became a nice decoration. Maybe I need to read it again:
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 3000 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
Michael Jordan
God,
Open my eyes to my own humanness. Help me accept me for…me. And out of that acceptance may I truly know the love you have for me and amazing grace that you give.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
I have just spent the last hour or so "chasing" blogs about a new book that was just released by one of my favorite authors, Tony Jones. Mr. Jones has written a book (found here) that is causing quite a stir! I won't bore you with details, but I spent an hour reading praises for the book as well as many criticisms. The major argument is that Tony Jones sits outside of traditional "orthodoxy" (here). I have read so many "big" words in the last hour that I have come down with a severe case of tired head. The blogs are all written by people with a lot of letters after their names and so that gives them some sort of street cred! After looking in my theological dictionary for the fourth time in an hour I decided I needed to blog about today's passage…
We get so uptight about other people. We spend so much of our time worried what others are doing and saying that we forget about ourselves. I want to learn to love the Lord, walk in his ways, and to keep his commands. I want to do these three things really well before I start to look at how well you are doing. I want to leave behind this arrogance that I have it all together and take with me my own brokenness. I want to be able to say "…the Lord is my life." (v.20)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Romans 8:18-25
Thursday, February 21, 2008
John 6:22-40
Why?
Why can't they just believe him?
Why did they need a sign?
We are always looking for proof. We like it better when we can see for ourselves before we make decisions. Ever been to consumerreports.org? Someone has tested whatever it is that you are thinking about buying. There is proof that the product either works or doesn't. You now get reviews online for everything from hotel rooms to baby beds. Just yesterday Stacey was looking at beds online and was reading the reviews for this one particular bed…all the reviews she read were positive except for one! Guess what? We aren't buying that bed because someone didn't like it. We want a "sign" that what we are getting is worthy of us having it. One star? No way, give me at least 3.5!
Do we do this with God? I do. Sure, I don't say that I want God to show me a "miraculous sign", I usually say something like "God will open that door if he wants me to do that."
How can I be less like the people in this story and more like Abraham leaving his home not knowing what was ahead?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
John 7:37-44
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Isaiah 55
It is comforting for me to read a passage like Isaiah 55, because I am so thirsty for God. It has been good today to read over and over again this invitation to come a drink with him…
"…but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
Get any minister to be 100% honest and they will tell you that they count the people in the seats. It matters to us. It matters to the people in the seats. Numbers matter. The more seats that are filled, the more successful a church is. This may or may not be true, but as a student minister I feel immense pressure to "save" a generation. Parents drop off students and when they pick them back up they are supposed to well-polished "Christians". My perception may have certainly become my reality and every parent may not think this way, but I feel the weight of this pressure daily. Can I be content to know that God's word does not come back empty? Can I be satisfied with God accomplishing what HE desires? How long before I realize that I am just clay in the potter's hands?
Monday, February 18, 2008
Psalm 63:1-8
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Colossians 3:1-17
Friday, February 15, 2008
Acts 26:2-29
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Luke 19:1-10
What is it about being in the presence of Jesus that makes Zacchaeus to want give half his possessions to the poor and pay back anyone he has cheated? There is obviously more to the conversation than what Luke provides here, but I don't get the sense that Jesus ever asks Zacchaeus to this. The "ruler" from Mark 10 comes to Jesus and asks what he can do to inherit eternal life, but Zacchaeus is just trying to find out who Jesus was (v. 3). There is just something about Jesus that draws the unexpected people of his time to do some really amazing things. I'd like to think I would have been a Zacchaeus, someone who is just trying to find out what is going on and then making a drastic change in my life and following Jesus. Im probably more like the other people in the story, standing and questioning Jesus, but I want to become more like Zacchaeus…